By

Share

Blog Roll

Weekend option: Get out of town and Panic

Jun 29th 2011

Flashback to 1993. I lived in a house with a bunch of dudes. We had long hair, wore flannel shirts and listened, of course, to any and all of the post-Dead, nuevo -hippie materials that were at our disposal. And thus, Widespread Panic was in the CD changer (remember those?) and on heavy rotation as we sat around and did the other stuff that went with the nuevo-hippie style of the time (bong hits).

Flash forward to 2011. I have a friend from that time who, in regard to his devotion to Widespread Panic, never really left. He's a banker in Denver by day but the mere whiff of a Panic show in the western United States has him lacing up the Chacos and heading out. Over the years, he's consistently invited me along and I've mostly politely declined. Like bong hits, I sort of outgrew the long-form jam band style. I can't really believe I ever suffered through as many Phish shows as I did, actually. I still, however, occasionally listen to Panic and it is fun to go to a big show in a beautiful place, so I'm joining forces with my Panic-freak friend and headed to Wyoming for the weekend.

You all should come along. There are miraculously still a few tickets and three-day passes available Ticketfly.com. (877-4-FLY-TIX ). Grand Targhee has this amazing outdoor amphitheater and a really liberal picnic policy. (If really you can't come, follow my increasingly impaired tweets on Twitter at SaltLakeEditor.) It's going to be a great summer weekend reliving the past, making new memories with mates, and probably remembering why I don't go to Panic shows that often.

Also there is hiking and biking in the Tetons (photo by Gabe Rogel)

On the logistics front: I'm told by the event organizers that CAMPING PASSES ARE SOLD OUT. (They told me that quite emphatically, hence the all-caps.) But there is lodging available in the area, especially in nearby Driggs, Idaho. (A shuttle service will run from Driggs. There is also some lodging available at Targhee itself. To investigate call 800-TARGHEE

The event will also feature performances by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The New Mastersounds, J-Boogie and Michal Menert and (my favorite) Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons.

But if Panic isn't your cup of tea and your Forth of July is already all booked up with Mom and apple pie stuff here in Utah. Targhee will play host to two more music festivals this summer:

The Targhee Music Festival runs July 15 through July 17 and will feature Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Jason Spooner, Sarah Bareilles, James McMurtry, Jackie Greene, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bonerama, The Funky Meters and Little Feat. (Killer line up but I could live without the Micheal Franti.)

And in August check out the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival on the 12th through 14th. Pretty much anyone who is anyone in the picking world will be there including my favorite the Infamous Stringdusters.